Remorse Opens the Door
by Takebuo Ishimatsu
Summary: Post Tower of Babel & Pre-Divided We Fall. Spoilers for both. What if Oracle had managed to capture Batman on tape discussing the events in ToB? Not with her, but with Commissioner Gordon?


**Title: **Remorse Opens the Door

**Author: **Takebuo Ishimatsu

**Pairing(s): **None

**Summary: **Post Tower of Babel & Pre-Divided We Fall. Spoilers for both. What if Oracle had managed to capture Batman on tape discussing the events in ToB? Not with her, but with Commissioner Gordon?

**Warning: **Spoilers for Tower of Babel & Divided We Fall.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Justice League, Batman, or any of the other elements of the DC universe.

**AN: **I'm just getting into Batman/JL comics, so forgive me if there's any blaring mistakes. You can let me know about them, though.

"Attention everyone, Oracle has something she wants us all to see."

Superman's face shifted into an expression of sadness as the whispers started, just as he'd known they would.

"Batman's girl."

"How can we trust her?"

"Learned everything she knows from _him_."

And, on the other end...

"She's just trying to help."

"Transferred skills does not equal transferred mindset."

"I don't think like all the other Lanterns just because I am one."

He resisted the urge to bang his head into something, both because he knew it wouldn't solve anything and because he'd probably end up putting a hole in the Watchtower.

Did Bruce have any idea as to the trouble he'd caused? Probably, he was _Batman_, after all. The question then was: did he care?

Superman just sighed.

"I'm not certain if Superman told you or not," Oracle started once they were all assembled in front of the monitor, "but I tried to convince Batman to tell me his...thoughts on the situation," they all noticed she didn't say feelings, "but he refused and cut the transmission short. As such, I wasn't able to relay the message to you all like I'd originally hoped."

"However, it occurred to me the other day that perhaps I just wasn't the right person, and I searched through one of his own camera feeds until I managed to find what I was looking for."

Superman gave her a hard look, hoping she wasn't talking about a private conversation between him and Alfred. Batman would never forgive any of them if they broke his trust like that, even if some would argue that he deserved it. If they forgave him because of such a breach, the opposite would probably occur and he'd break away from them, thus sending them back to their current situation and making it pointless to begin with.

The woman gave an almost imperceptible shake of the head in response to his silent question.

"So, he tells one of his little Batlings what we want to hear and you just happen to find this 'secret' footage to share with us all?" Plastic Man mocked.

Oracle shook her head. "No, I didn't even bother looking for anything like that, as I suspected your response might be such. The man you'll see on this footage is none other than Commissioner Jim Gordon, head of the GCPD for over fifteen years and an officer even longer. While I freely admit that he's a close ally of Batman's, I also point out that he's no lackey or one of the 'Batlings.' Research him if you'd like."

With that, she cut herself out of the picture and a video popped up of a semi-lit office.

"Research him. Hmph. As if she couldn't hack into anything and alter his files," Aquaman mock-whispered.

Flash gave the other a sidelong glance, "Dude, now you're sounding just as paranoid as Bats."

"Do NOT compare me to _him_."

Superman turned to give the two a stern look and Flash snapped his mouth closed, whatever he'd been about to say no longer seeming that important. Satisfied, the Man of Steel reached forwards and tapped the keyboard to start the film.

An older man with glasses was sitting at his desk, apparently doing paperwork when the curtains seemed to move of their own accord. Gordon turned his chair towards them, leaning back once he did so. A perfect picture of relaxation.

Stepping forward, Batman nodded. "Jim."

" Man, I _still_ didn't see him enter," Flash said with a dejected sigh.

There were a few murmurs of agreement. Whether they were for or against the other superhero, they all freely admitted that he was good at what he did. Then again, perhaps that was problem. He was _too_ good.

Batman dropped what looked to be a gun inside of an evidence bag on the other's desk.

"Nothing," he growled out.

"Damn," the cop sighed, "So Salsoni's going to walk this time, huh?"

"They're getting smarter."

"You mean they've finally realized that we have more firepower than the half-dead lab equipment over at CSI?" Gordon snorted before he took a sip of his coffee, "Only took them seventeen years."

Draining his mug, he got up and walked over to a coffee maker sitting in the corner. The watching Justice League members weren't certain if they should be horrified or amused by the fact that he actually had three of them.

"You want some?" Gordon asked, turning around. He looked almost surprised to find the other man still there. They didn't blame him; they'd been on the receiving end of Bats' disappearing act far too many times themselves.

Batman didn't respond, his gaze resting on the gun. Nevertheless, the other man seemed to take that as a yes and he poured a mug for the vigilante. Pressing it into Batman's hands, he leaned against the front of his desk, facing the other.

"What do you want to talk about?" Gordon asked softly, as if afraid that the other would fly away if he said it too loudly.

"What makes you think I want to talk about anything?" Batman responded before taking a sip.

"You're still here," Gordon pointed his mug at the other before talking his own drink.

"Maybe I just wanted the coffee."

"It's not that good."

They sat in silence after that for a long while. Flash began shifting to and fro when they hit the four minute mark.

"I cannot fault the man's patience," J'onn said after six minutes and still nothing.

Finally, just when Superman had been contemplating fast-forwarding it, regardless of the risk of accidentally missing something, Batman spoke.

"I have files on you. And your men."

Gordon didn't even blink, just nodding like it was a well-known fact. To him, maybe it was.

"Yes, and you have taps on phone lines, cameras in every possible area, including MCU, and a wide array of items that can see through walls and listen in to conversations a mile away." Gordon said with a raised eyebrow, as if to ask what the other's point was.

Eyes started roaming the Watchtower almost of their own accord.

"Uh, Supes?"

Superman shook his head, the only one to have not looked away from the screen. "He doesn't bug any of his own working spaces."

He turned to give them a wry follow-up, "Too paranoid."

Diana raised her eyebrow at the assurance, wondering what other "working spaces" the other had had privy to.

"You don't mind?" Batman asked and their attention zoomed back towards the video.

Gordon snorted, "I mind quite a bit actually, and there's a reason I've never told any of my men, though I'm certain some of them must have figured it out by now. But, I've seen how it can help. I may never have found the mole in my department if not for your damn paranoia."

" Wow," Flash whispered at the other's curse. To curse the Bat to his face...the old guy was the _real_ Man of Steel.

"Just out of curiosity, this wouldn't happen to have anything to do with your apparent falling out with the Justice League, would it?"

Batman didn't respond.

"I know there have been several crises in the past few weeks and you've stayed in Gotham the whole time," Gordon explained, even though the other hadn't asked.

Batman still didn't say anything.

"I may not be one to muddle in other people's affairs, especially yours, but if these guys dumped you because they found out about your...observations, perhaps they simply didn't know you as well as they thought they did." Gordon calmly took a sip out of his mug all the while the Justice League was up in arms.

" How dare he imply that it is _our_ fault that Batman betrayed us!" Diana snapped out.

" Hey, hey," Flash made a calming motion with his hands, "He didn't _betray_ us, he just made plans and those plans got into the bad guys' grasp."

"It is the same difference," Aquaman replied.

"Shhhhh. I think he's about to say something." Superman hissed and their impending explosion was cut short as they crowded around the screen again.

"It wasn't just observations. I took what I'd learned of them and made plans to stop them in case anything ever went wrong. I made these without giving them any sort of warning."

"And they found them?"

"Worse."

Gordon nodded, "So, criminals managed to use strategies against them devised by one of their allies. I can see why they're upset."

Now it was Gordon's turn to be silent, as he seemed to look for something else to say. Though the audience couldn't be certain, Batman looked almost...anxious? while he waited. They wondered about the man's closeness with the other if his opinion seemed to matter that much.

"As I said, I understand where they're coming from, though I'm not certain telling them would have solved anything. It might have made things worse since it'd have made them self conscious around you when you may never have had to tell them, if things had never gone awry. It's the same reason why I told my men that we caught Dasson plotting against us on a known bugged line rather than the truth."

"It doesn't seem to affect you."

"As I said, I don't like it, but I understand it." Gordon crossed his arms with a slight smirk, "Besides, though I can't be certain, I'd bet money that I was a cop before you were even out of kindergarden," he let his eyes roam over the other, as if trying to judge his age. Superman knew he wasn't far off the mark. "Let's just say, you're not the only one doing any watching around here."

Batman actually smiled, even if only a little bit, "Detective's mindset."

Gordon nodded. Batman turned to leave, for once actually announcing his exit, and the other hurried to get in his last few words. "If it's any consolation," Batman paused in his escape, "I'm glad to know we have someone to watch out for us normal folk."

"But who's watching me?" Batman asked cryptically before jumping out the window.

Gordon sighed, crossing his arms.

"Whoever you're doing this all for," Gordon whispered into the darkness.

The video disappeared and Oracle appeared again.

"I know this doesn't excuse him of anything, but I thought you might want to see that."

Then she cut out and there was silence for a moment as everyone tried to decide how they felt about it all.

"So...Bats feels kinda bad about what he did. That's got to count for something, right?" Flash asked hopefully.

"If I kill a friend of yours, then feel bad about it, does it excuse what I did to your friend?" Aquaman countered.

"Wow, man, that's kinda harsh, don't you think? You can't compare what Bats did with something like that," Flash replied, pointing his finger at the other accusingly.

"Why can't I? It's the same basic principle."

"Perhaps some of us feel betrayal more than others," Diana replied.

"It is not just about betrayal. You have stated that you do not feel as if you can work with someone who is watching you. Perhaps we should speak to this Commissioner Gordon about such things," J'onn said.

"It is not some defect that I need _counseling_ for, if that is what you are implying."

"I was not, I merely meant that-"

"What if," Superman paused in his half-mumbled speech to himself as everyone's attention shifted to him. Continuing louder, "What if we got something from him in return? Something personal that would make you want to trust him again?"

Plastic Man snorted, "What, like his secret identity or something?'

Superman was silent and everyone have him incredulous looks.

"For reals? You know Bats' secret identity?" Flash asked, clearly amazed.

Superman nodded, "And he knows mine."

"Well, so much for that plan then," Plastic Man mocked.

"No, it'll be an even trade since you guys need something from him to trust him again. I don't."

"But you voted against him," Diana said, giving him a scrutinizing look, "Has your opinion changed already?"

Superman shook his head, "No, but I know what we need to do for the sake of the team. Batman and I will work it out personally later."

"He is not such a great asset that we absolutely _need_ him, no matter that there are those that make him out to be," Aquaman gave Flash a look as he finished.

"What? Everything I've said is true. Bats is always the one to come in with some plan to save the day, using clues that the rest of us didn't even pick up," he said with a shrug.

"J'onn is our new detective," Diana replied.

The Martian shook his head, "I'm afraid I am not that good. I wouldn't rely on me so much if I was you."

"It's not just his skills we need, but our overall trust," Superman cut in before they could get into _that_ argument again, "Even just today, I've seen some of the looks you give each other now. Because of Batman we've lost trust in the rest of us as well."

"Right, and why do we want the guy again?" Plastic Man asked.

"Because he's one of us, even if he had made a mistake. A mistake I may have caused," Superman finished with a whisper, looking at his feet.

"Superman-" Diana started.

"No," Superman held up a hand to stop her, "the fact of the matter is that I put it into his head that we should have fail-safes. I was the first. Even though I never even dreamed that he'd go this far, I feel like I should take some responsibility for it."

"It's _Batman_, he could have been thinking this up years before you ever asked," Aquaman replied.

"Maybe," Superman said softly.

"Nevertheless, if I know him even half as well as I think I do, I bet he feels like I've betrayed _him_ by voting against him for doing something I originally wanted." He gave the others a bitter smile as he continued, "He even made a special type of Kryponite that wouldn't kill me, even if it did hurt like heck."

"I know I can't force you to trust him, but, at the very least, I'm going to give him a second chance."

"So, what, are you just going to ask him to reveal his secret identity and he's going to be all 'Sure, Supes, whatever you say'?" Plastic Man asked.

Superman shook his head in amusement, "Not exactly. This is Batman we're talking about. He's probably already figured it out and all I need to do is show him we're open for negotiations. That is, if we actually _are_ open for negotiations." He gave them all an assessing look.

"I'm in," Kyle said, giving them his first words since the debate started. Superman nodded, able to see that it was still paining the other deeply.

"Of course, J'onn and I were for him the first time around, so we're in," Flash pointed to the other and then himself before pausing to look at the Martian, "Right?"

J'onn nodded.

Just as before, everyone looked towards the opposing group, waiting.

"Yo, if you can actually get Bats to show me that much trust, what with the guy having practically written the book on paranoia, then I'll give him some of mine back," Plastic Man finally seemed to agree.

Diana and Aquaman turned to look at each other before Diana slowly nodded.

"Obviously, we do not share the same opinion of secret identities, but it will be a start. I know I will have to speak with him more at length, but I will give him this chance to prove himself."

"As will I, though a beating might still be in order," Aquaman agreed.

Superman smiled. Now all he had to do was convince Bruce.

"I would still like to meet this Commissioner Gordon. The man seems intriguing," J'onn added.

Superman nodded, making a note to ask Bruce to introduce them.

**AN: **So, I just kind of picked a random date in the future for ToB, thus making Gordon the Commish of fifteen years & working with Bats for seventeen. If there is an actual date, I'd like to know if someone could tell me.

Also, I have no idea if the JL knows who Oracle is or that she's related to the Commish. I'm obviously going with the fact that they don't, since they wouldn't otherwise take what was said so easily. Again, if someone knows the facts about this, please let me know.

Finally, what do y'all think of the fic? I'm thinking of doing a sequel...s, but we'll see.


End file.
